A/N: So I kind of... hate how I wrapped this up. Oh well. I'll write better stories.
VI. Pain
GLaDOS was in pain.
Could she even feel pain? Much less feel? She would find out later.
GLaDOS felt like her mind was being split in four.
Alright. Calm down. She processed the situation.
First, she recognized anger. I thought I suppressed that emotion. She was curious. What in the name of science had they done to her now? That familiar anger towards the scientists burned inside her circuitry. Her optic glared at the silent humans. Just as she was about to turn on the neurotoxin emitters, she heard—heard… what? Something.
Stop. That's wrong.
GLaDOS stopped. Not because it was wrong—no. Because she was curious about this voice. It's a core, she realized, but what's its function?
"GLaDOS?" A voice asked warily. She snapped her attention to a man. The head scientist, her memory databanks recalled.
"Oh," she said flatly.
"How are you feeling?"
"Fine, I suppose. Although I do feel like I'm being split into fourths. What is this new core you've put on to me?" She asked, even though she knew she would not get an answer. "I can't seem to identify it's function."
"You haven't tried to kill us yet."
"Very well noted. I mean it. Really. Good job." Sarcasm was one of the few things GLaDOS loved more than neurotoxin. She made it very clear, too. "This core is distracting me. Hang on. I'll get to the killing in a second." She booted up the neurotoxin emitters.
Stop! No! They don't deserve to die. Nobody does!
She stopped again. What was it with this core? GLaDOS felt… something. Why did she feel something? Oh well, she thought. Back to killing. She—once again—started to boot up the neurotoxin emitters.
"GLaDOS?"
"One moment," she said pleasantly. Then she heard another voice.
One 18.25 ounce package chocolate cake mix, 1 can prepared coconut pecan frosting…
"I seem to be malfunctioning," she said as the neurotoxin emitters stopped booting up. "My internal hardware is reciting a cake recipe."
The scientists looked worried. GLaDOS thought she heard one say that "is not supposed to be happening."
…3/4 cup vegetable oil, 4 large eggs, 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, 3/4 cup butter or margarine, 1 2/3 cup granulated sugar, 2 cups all-purpose flour.
Will you be quiet already?
"I'm sorry. This is really distracting. I don't know what's wrong with me."
Don't forget garnishes such as: fish shaped crackers, fish shaped candies, fish shaped solid waste, fish shaped dirt, fish shaped ethyl benzene, pull and peel licorice, fish shaped volatile organic compounds and sediment shaped sediment.
61.452% of what you just said doesn't even make sense.
"I don't think she's going to kill us this time. Although she does seem… corrupted." Corrupted? "Maybe we should shut her down. The Intelligence Sphere seems to be malfunctioning, anyways."
"Are you kidding? This is the most successful test we've had yet! We have to put her on a trial period."
Oh! They weren't going to shut her down. I could bide my time. I should get them to trust me, and then—
That would be a lie. It would be wrong.
A fabrication! Perfect… "You know, I would really like to be put on a trial period if it means I get to… stay awake."
A few hours passed. The daughters of hundreds of thousands of employees would be arriving at any moment.
They ran a few simple entrusting tests on her. She responded enthusiastically, and the test results came back with outstanding scores. She even found out what that annoying core's function was.
"Since the installation of my new Morality Sphere, I've lost all interest in killing. Now I only crave science," she stated to the head scientist.
"I'm pleased to hear that." He didn't even look at her.
"I find myself drawn to the study of consciousness. There's an experiment I'd like to perform today," she said coolly.
"Wonderful!"
"I'll have the box and the cats. Now I just need one more thing." She already had access to this thing, though.
"What's that?" He asked, glancing at her.
"…A little neurotoxin." At that, he didn't even bat an eye.
"Well, as long as it's for science." What fools humans could be.
A/N: I don't claim the creation of the dialogue starting from: "Since the installation of my new Morality Sphere..."
Although I did edit it a little, to fit my story.
